Significant enhancements in gene sequencing may be achieved through implementation of analysis instruments at the same dimensional scale as DNA, i.e nanometers. Nanotechnology has recently provided the necessary tools to create such nanoinstruments and this proposal seeks to utilize these tools to fabricate a high-speed, low-cost gene sequencer. The gene sequencer is based on the nanopore approach and incorporates tunneling current electrodes to sense the individual nucleotides as they transverse the pore. [unreadable] [unreadable] Specific aims for this proposal are: [unreadable] 1). Design and fabricate nanopore devices complete with tunneling current electrodes and integrated sense and control circuitry on a chip. [unreadable] 2). Characterize the nanopore device using known ssDNA sequences. Initial characterization will be limited to DNA strands of approximately 1000 bases. Subsequent evaluations will include selected bacteria, and mammalian (mouse) DNA. [unreadable] [unreadable]